Friday, April 15, 2011

Scream 4: Meta Whateva

I am not going to go in depth on my feelings about the original Scream film or the subsequent sequels. As usual, another blogger did that much better than I could. Please check out:Dinner with Max Jenke
He pretty much says everything I would about the franchise but with much more art. What I will share is my own personal Scream story. First of all, let me say that I have never felt older than I do now. Everyone (bloggers that I admire) is talking about Scream. For quite a few of them, it is a seminal film. Because they saw it when they were 12! I was already a grown ass woman when this film came out. I can't believe people are talking about it like its the fucking Exorcist! Really, a retrospective for a film that seems to my old ass like it came out yesterday? Whatever. Not that I am done with that rant, let me say I am 36 years old. When the original Scream was filming I was working at the front desk of a very swanky hotel in Santa Rosa, California. Yes, the same Santa Rosa they filmed Scream in. Now a confession: I wasn't the awesome horror geek then that I am now. But I was a pretty big film nerd and was very jazzed that they were filming a major Hollywood film in my town. I was even more jazzed that the producers of the film were staying at my hotel. The cast was stuck at the cheaper hotel up the hill. Nevertheless, I got to make copies of the script, I met the producers, I "saw" David Arquette and Neve Campell briefly, and I got to listen in rapt attention while the bellboy I had a crush on told me about running into the cast at the local bar and pissing off David Arquette. It was a pretty exciting time in my young life. I don't think I even owned a computer yet. And I had yet to embrace my inner Horror geek. What a shame.

That is my Scream story. I loved the first film. The sequels kind of sucked. I remember being disappointed. The first film was original and funny. You really had the feeling that anyone could die at anytime. The sequels? Not so much. Now we come to the "reboot." New Decade, New Rules as the tag line says. Really, just more of the same. The opening scenes I thought were stupid as I was watching them and after some reflection I decided they were the best part of the film. Sidney returns home after 10 years to promote her self-help book. Sid's cousin, Jill, is pretty much a carbon copy of Sid at that age. Sure enough, old Ghostface returns, now armed with Facebook and Twitter. He targets Jill and her media savvy friends. His intention is to torture Sidney, the ultimate Final Girl. Blah, blah, blah. There is nothing new here, except the revelation that Julia Roberts' niece is actually a decent actress and that Hayden Panettiere is not as annoying as I had suspected. Also, Rory Culkin should consider a new career. I wish I could say this was mind blowing, funny, or even scary. Can't say it is any of those things. Go see it. Scream is now like the Saw films (which it mocks). You have to see it. You have invested the time. Might as well see what your old friends are up too. Like a class reunion. My suggestion: get Stinko.

Remember I do in Scream's "Thanks To" credits the line: "And no thanks at all to the Santa Rosa School Board" First they 'yes' to letting Craven use Santa Rosa High as a set in the movie, then they said 'No'. Story made national news. How funny! Craven used the old Community Center building in Sonoma.